Putin responds to Russian teenager, who thanked him for sending guitar as gift

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. A teenager from northern Russia, who thanked Vladimir Putin for giving him a guitar, has received the Russian president’s response, the regional administration’s press service said on Tuesday.

During the president’s live Q&A session in July, Ivan Volkov, an eighth-grade student from the Pskov Region, asked the president for an acoustic guitar, which his family could not afford. After receiving the guitar as present a month later, Volkov thanked the president by sending the photo of him posing with the instrument.

"The president left his message to the boy on the reverse side of the photograph: Vanya, no matter whether you choose to devote your life to music, science or industry, your health, success and happiness is what really matters," the Pskov Region administration said in a statement.

The president’s message was delivered by Pskov Region Governor Andrei Turchak, who earlier met with Putin.